Days of Dust
by enniferfs
Summary: Secrets and lies are exhausting, but still, she is willing to wait. He has a world to save after all. These days of dust will soon pass. Written for the Sing Me a Rare OS comp Autumn 2017.


**Prompt:**

I Will Wait, by Mumford & Sons

"And I will wait, I will wait for you."

All characters, spells, magical equipment and locations from the Harry Potter series belong to JK Rowling.

I'd like to thank I_Was_BOTWP for being my Alpha/Beta extraordinaire! I simply couldn't have written this without your help and encouragement!

* * *

As Daphne Greengrass is being rounded up with the rest of the Slytherins and led away toward the dungeons, she almost gives herself away. Two and a half years of secrets and lies have made the friends she should have been able to trust practically strangers to her. She justifies it by remembering that she lies to shield them, to protect herself, and to save him .

She thinks back to the day everything changed.

It was less than a week before the Christmas break back in fifth year when she silently followed Harry Potter down a deserted corridor before quickly pulling him into an alcove and urgently shushing him. She still didn't know what came over her when she stared into his impossibly green eyes and whispered three life-altering words. "I believe you." He stared back at her for several long moments, dumbfounded. Then his face broke into the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. She couldn't help but smile back. Before she noticed what was happening, he leaned forward and softly placed his warm lips on her cheek. And then he was gone before she had time to react. After that day, she went out of her way to slip him warnings about Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad and their plans, even going so far as to distract Draco and Pansy when her instincts led her to.

Daphne couldn't explain why she was drawn to him, but it quickly became obvious to her that the mysterious pull she felt was reciprocated. She would frequently catch him watching her, smiling at her with a puzzled expression on his face. The remainder of fifth year passed in a blur of stolen glances, shy smiles, whispered warnings and distressed worrying. And through these, somehow, a friendship was forged. She only saw him one time after the disaster in the Department of Mysteries, a moment alone, stolen by pure luck in an empty corridor. He had been crying. She delicately wrapped her arms around him and quietly spoke into his ear. "I'm sorry." His hands came up to cup her face, his eyes full of pain and gratitude. She stood, transfixed, and he leaned in and kissed her for the first time. It was soft and warm, he smelled nice, and she could taste the salt of his tears on his lips.

"I like you, I want this," Harry said. But it was dangerous, it meant secrets, and he didn't want to see her hurt because of him; her family was on the wrong side. "I just can't right now...it's too much…"

"I can wait. I will wait for you." Daphne replied.

* * *

Daphne is one of the last Slytherins to enter the common room. She shivers involuntarily when the door slams behind them and they are warded in, unable to leave. She falls to her knees, bows her golden head, and rests her face gently against the door, silently willing him to be alright, to survive this awful night, to come back to her. She knows there is nothing else she can do.

"Daphne, what on earth are you doing?" Pansy's voice echoes from directly behind her.

"I'm waiting." The words fall from her lips so softly, like a prayer that there will actually be something, someone, left to wait for when it is all over.

Time passes and others come to question her, Millie, Tori, even some sixth years she barely recognizes. She says nothing more, ignoring the worried glances they give each other. She breathes slowly and deeply, trying to slow her racing heart.

Her mind drifts to memories of sixth year.

As much as Harry had sworn it couldn't happen yet and she had promised to wait, it was less than three weeks into the fall term when they first found themselves snogging in hidden corners of the castle. With all the pressure of a looming war neither could ignore, they quickly became a safe haven for each other. After months of pushing the boundaries of their physical relationship further and further along, they started talking as much as they touched. They had surprisingly similar outlooks on life, despite their vastly different upbringing, and conversation was easy between them. They talked about their pasts, their classes, and their friends. Often, they dreamed out loud of a future they probably assumed they could never have, especially not together. They avoided discussing the obvious, the war, until one afternoon in the new year when Daphne began to fear her silence would cost her too dearly. She knew the others would see it as a betrayal, but somewhere within her she found the strength and told Harry everything she knew. She talked about Draco withdrawing from everyone, their suspicions that he had taken the Dark Mark, that he must be planning something sinister.

She knew she could no longer consider herself on her parents' side of the war the day Draco was cursed in the bathroom. Her mind immediately went to Harry, worried he might be in trouble. She found herself warning him away from dark magic, reminding him to cling to the good within him, kissing away his guilt. Their stolen moments became hurried and desperate, without adequate words to share they fell back to touch, because touching each other allowed them to feel.

On the day Draco warned his classmates to stay in the common room at all costs for the coming evening, Daphne snuck out and searched for Harry.

"Something is going to happen tonight," she said. "Promise me you'll stay safe!"

Harry refused to answer, he kissed her hard. He whispered his thanks into her ear and was gone.

She sat in her bed the whole evening, the curtains drawn, worried sick and knowing she simply couldn't convince him to stay out of harm's way. And then Dumbledore was dead, Snape and Draco were gone, and the whole world came crashing down around her again.

The next day, the mistrust for the Slytherins was palpable, but all Daphne could worry about was Harry. She was walking back from breakfast when he ambushed her and dragged her up to the seventh floor. He paced the empty hallway until a door appeared and led her into what seemed to be a sitting room, with a cosy sofa and plush chairs. Harry stood before her, sad green eyes staring intently into hers.

"I'm sorry! I wish I could have saved him somehow." she blurted out. "I swear I didn't know what he was planning! I feel like an idiot, like I should have known! I'm so sorry!"

"You've nothing to be sorry for, Daph," he soothed. He reached out and brought her close, holding her around the waist with one arm and running his other hand lovingly through her hair.

"It's all a mess, Harry! My parents are working for Voldemort, my friends don't even know about the most important person in my life, and I can't DO anything!" she cried.

"You can stay safe, do whatever you can to stay out of it. Please, promise me!" Harry begged.

"It isn't fair of you to ask something like that of me, when you won't ever promise me the same in return," she said.

"I won't be coming back next year," he answered sadly. "I have a job to do, it's dangerous…"

He let his thought dangle unfinished, perhaps not wanting to frighten her with the idea that he might not return from his task at all.

"I can wait," Daphne whispered. The silence between them stretched on.

"What if there isn't anything to wait for?" he finally replied.

"It doesn't matter! I will wait for you." As she said it, she pulled back from him to look him boldly in the eye.

Harry leaned in and placed his lips gently on hers. He ran his fingers along her cheek and slipped them around the back of her neck and into her hair, gripping gently and pulling her closer. Their lips parted and the kiss turned desperate, tongues dancing, moans escaping into each other's mouths. All too suddenly, Daphne realised it felt like goodbye and she pulled back with tears in her eyes.

"I love you, Harry."

He looked down at her with a sad smile, running his thumb gently over her swollen lips. And then he turned abruptly and walked out of the room. She tried to follow him, but by the time she went out into the corridor, he had vanished.

* * *

"Daphne…"

She looks up to see that Theo is now sitting beside her on the floor.

"Are you alright?" he asks. There is concern in his eyes, worry in the creases on his forehead.

"I'm waiting." she says again.

"You can take that nonsense and shove it up your-" Theo stops abruptly and takes a deep breath, suddenly aware that his angry words have everyone turning to look at them. "That isn't going to work on me," he continues in a frustrated but quieter tone. "Don't insult my intelligence. Am I your best friend or not? Don't you think I know you at least a little bit?"

"I'm scared," she whispers.

"It's Potter isn't it…" He speaks so quietly she barely hears him and instinctively, she knows he is trying to protect her from the others. They both know there is a worst-case scenario lingering below the surface like a living nightmare.

She stares back at the door, raising her hands to touch it and to lean her forehead against them.

"Please, tell me it wasn't obvious. Tell me I didn't give him away…" She can't look at him, she doesn't think she has ever felt so vulnerable...not even when Harry walked away.

"Nobody knows," he says. "Well, none of the Slytherins anyway. It was...Hermione had a theory, she's the one who figured it out...brightest witch and all that…" Theo lets his thought trail off.

Daphne's eyes snap to his as what he just said sinks in. Something about the way he spoke her name gives him away and she suddenly knows how much he understands her in this moment. She reaches for his hand and wraps her fingers around his; she doesn't intend to let go. There is strength in this kinship.

"Wait with me." she says.

"I'm done with waiting, Daphne! I can't just let this happen, she's the best thing that ever happened to me. Now, are you going to help me break through these wards or not?"

Feeling bolder than she ever has in her life, she pulls her wand from its hidden place in her robes and rises to her feet. Theo grins and retrieves his wand from the leg of his trousers and they get to work. The others all stare at them in confused silence, but nobody moves to stop them.

As the magic flows through her while she works, she thinks back on the past year.

The silence was the hardest part. She thought it would kill her. The months of not knowing whether or not he was safe even seemed worse than the Carrows, than the horror of being made to curse her fellow students, than the pain of knowing she was on the wrong side. But she couldn't seem to let go or move on.

And then the letter had come. She knew it must have been risky to send it. She knew he must have felt it was important to risk it. It came on the 1st of May on a nondescript piece of parchment, delivered by a regular post owl at breakfast.

No matter what, know that I love you.

Hope blossomed in her heart. She had refused to let go of her hopes for a world without Voldemort, she had too much faith in Harry to believe he could fail for even a moment. But now a more personal hope joined it, one that she might have a chance at happiness when the madness ended.

* * *

Suddenly, the booming voice of Voldemort interrupts her thoughts and her concentration. Theo still has his entire focus on the wards, though Daphne cannot help but listen for a moment. The words she hears pierce her heart, but somehow she refuses to believe Harry is dead; she feels she would know, that perhaps her heart would also stop beating in sympathy. She doubles her effort on the task at hand and the wards drop. Theo turns to her with a panicked look on his face.

"Daphne, I…"

"Go! Now! You still have a chance!" she urges him.

He leans in to kiss her cheek and then takes off running. All around her, others stare at her in awe, as she stands calmly beside the open door. On the inside, her mind is racing, her heart is breaking. But she was raised in these dungeons and her mask is now firmly in place. She turns to leave and it seems to break the spell on the rest of the room. Some rush past her, others stay where they are. Daphne ignores everyone and slowly makes her way through the halls.

If he truly is dead, she has no reason to hurry.

By the time she gets near the Great Hall, a new sun has risen. Everything sounds strangely calm and subdued. She stands quietly near the doors and looks in. The first thing she sees is the dead, lined up, and those weeping over them. She wonders if she will be joining them, if she even can. Glancing around, she spots Theo with his arms wrapped tightly around a witch with bushy brown hair and releases a sigh of relief for her closest friend; whatever the situation, it seems at least that much is alright.

The sudden feeling of someone watching her makes her step back into the corridor in fear for her safety. She walks away, ducking into the nearest alcove when she reaches it, only to find someone has followed her into the small space. She looks up and gasps.

"Harry!"

His lips crash into hers, his strong arms crushing her to him. She can hardly breathe as she clings to his filthy jacket, wanting to touch him to make sure he is real. All too soon, he pulls back and bright green eyes look down into her own.

"Merlin," he rasps out between heaving breaths, "Kissing you is like coming home."

"I almost can't believe you're here," she whispers, "he said you were dead, I don't understand...I don't even know if it's safe-"

"He's dead, Daph! It's over. There's so much to do...but the madman is gone." He glances toward the corridor, hesitating.

She looks at him carefully. He looks overwhelmed, tired, but also uncertain.

"Harry, I understand if it's not the right time...I mean, if you need me to, I can wait-"

"No! I'm done waiting! No more secrets. No more lies. They all need to know how much you mean to me! It's the least of what you deserve, after what I've put you through." he says.

Her breath hitches and she feels almost dizzy with happiness, but the reality of it all burrows back in almost instantly.

"Some won't like it, Harry. How can we face them all…"

"It doesn't matter! We'll figure it out, together. Please." He pleads with her. Harry steps out of the alcove and holds out his hand to her, clearly nervous. After a moment of quick reflection, Daphne follows him out and weaves her fingers through his, smiling shyly up at him.

"I love you, Harry."

"I love you too, Daphne."

Hand in hand, they walk toward the Great Hall.


End file.
